PM Boris Johnson has relied on the armed forces to shore up his position during the coronavirus crisis

The House of Commons Defense Select Committee has launched an inquiry into the nature of the armed forces� contribution to the management of the coronavirus crisis.

Although the official statement uses benign language such as testing the armed forces� preparedness and resilience during the pandemic, the timing of the inquiry is odd and raises a number of questions.

Indeed such inquiries are often held once a crisis has blown over and a sufficient distance between the event and the post-event assessments has been achieved.

Britain is still in the grip of the coronavirus crisis with the government coming under intense criticism for its mishandling of the pandemic from the outset.

Furthermore, the role of the armed forces has not been entirely transparent. Under Operation Rescript the army was given expansive powers to intervene during the crisis, including potentially deploying troops to the streets of London to maintain law and order.

But the armed forces - and the army in particular - have appeared to use the crisis for propaganda purposes including indulging in expensive vanity projects, notably the Nightingale field hospital in London which was hardly used even at the peak of the crisis.

Earlier this month it was announced that NHS Nightingale would be shut down within a week.

SOURCE: PRESS TV